Originally, we were supposed to embark the Pearl Mist at between 11:30am and 12:30pm today and sail away at 3pm. But a few days ago, we got an email from the ship telling us to be on the ship by 7am for an 8:30am sailing…oh, and we were going to be at a different dock, too.
So we got ourselves out of bed at 5:15am and were at the designated address about 6:40am. There was nothing there and no way to get to the docks; I asked our Uber driver to drive a bit farther and we eventually found an opening leading in the right direction, and a crowd of people standing there with luggage. We joined them.
It was the right crowd – we were all waiting for the previous cruise’s passengers to be unloaded before they’d let us on (which, to be fair, was the right procedure). And eventually, the word circulated that we could walk down to the ship (with luggage) or wait for busses to take us there. Most of us walked, and then we got in another line to have our bags tagged and taken and to go through security screening before we could get onboard.
We were finally on the ship about 8am, all sent to the lounge to wait because our rooms weren’t ready (not surprising) and because we had to do the safety drill and presentation before the ship could depart. That was finished about 8:40 and then we sailed away, had breakfast, and eventually were able to go to our cabins.
I’ve heard two stories about the reason we had to leave early and from a different dock. One story says that the recent nor’easters had forced several ships to stay in port in Québec instead of leaving; the other story is that this is peak fall color season and there were LOTS of ships in port for that…and they were bigger and paid more for the dock space.
We saw the Silver Shadow coming in while we were waiting to board, and we also saw the Celebrity Silhouette and the Queen Mary 2 on their way to Québec in the first couple of hours after we sailed away (before our original departure time), so I’d put my money on the “big ships wanted the dock space” theory.
Things got better after we had breakfast and unpacked. This is a “Fall Foilage” cruise, and there was plenty of it to see.
Pearl Seas Cruises is a brother line to American Cruise Lines (literally – the owners are brothers). ACL’s ships are all US-registered; the Pearl Mist (Pearl Seas’s only ship) is registered to the Marshall Islands, but the resemblances are unmistakable (and the loyalty programs interoperate; we’re taking this cruise as our “free” cruise for completing 10 ACL cruises).
There was one clear benefit from sailing early – we got to the Saguenay Fjord about 5pm, while it was still light (instead of the original plan which would have gotten us there after dinner), so we could enjoy the scenery and the wildlife…including beluga whales!
I’m enjoying my new camera – I’ve been taking a lot of bursts in to get the best possible shot of birds and whales, which I wouldn’t have been able to do with my old camera. On the other hand, I had to scan through more than 500 photos I took in the hour or so I spent on deck as we were entering the fjord! It’s a learning experience.